Dear Seth,

    You're only three years old, and at this point in your life you can't read, much less understand what I'm going to try to tell you in this letter. But someday, when you're ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    There will be people in your life who won't be very nice .They'll tease you or try to hurt you because you're different.

    There's not much you can do except learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you and who make you feel good about yourself. When you find friends like this, treasure them, spend time with them and love them.

    Be open to life anyway

    Yes, you'll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life, but don't let that close you to new things.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Be open to new things, new experiences, new people.

    Life isn't a competition

    You will meet many people who will try to do better than you, in school, in college, at work. To them, life is a competition.

    But here's the secret: life isn't a competition.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Learn to enjoy the journey and make it a journey of happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love.

    Love should be your rule

    If there's a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: love.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbors, your co-workers, strangers, your brothers and sisters in humanity.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}You are starting out on an unknown, tiring, scary, but eventually great journey, and always remember I will be there for you when I can.

Love,

Your Dad

A. It's a journey.

B. Life is full of love.

C. Life can be cruel.

D. It might sound corny(老掉牙的), but there's no better rule in life.

E. Finally, know that I love you and always will.

F. Last, think that you are a wonderful human being.

G. Don't step backwards from life; don't hide yourself.

    You cannot choose your child's friends for him, but you can help him learn to choose friends wisely.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here are a few ways to help your child make friends.

    Build your child's self­confidence.

     When he succeeds or has made a great choice, tell him you're proud of him.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your middle school student is going through many changes and may feel like he isn't “good enough”. Building his self­confidence will help him feel more confident and will make it easier for him to form healthy friendships.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Give him your full attention when he talks, and really listen to what he has to say.

    Discuss the qualities in a friend with your child.

    Discuss with your child the qualities that matter most, such as being reliable and kind, and making good choices when it comes to avoiding alcohol and tobacco.

    Get to know your child's friends.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's more important to talk with them and find out what they like to do. Allow your child to invite his friends over and get to know them better.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    Afterschool clubs and sports programs are good places for meeting new people. Be open to exploring different activities with your child to find something that he enjoys.

A. Friends are very important for us.

B. Introduce your child to new groups of people.

C. Talk with your child every day and listen to his concerns.

D. Try not to judge your child's friends based on how they dress.

E. When he does not succeed, help him feel better and keep trying.

F. You can teach him ways to find friends who will have a positive influence on him.

G. There are many types of friends and we should be careful when making our choices.

    Adding math talk to story time at home is a winning factor for children's math achievement, according to a new research from a university. The study from psychologists Sian Beilock and Susan Levine shows a marked increase in math achievement among children whose families used Bedtime Math, an iPad app that delivers engaging math story problems for parents and children to solve together.

    Even children who used the app with their parents as little as once a week saw gains in math achievement by the end of the school year. The app's effect was especially strong for children whose parents tend to be anxious or uncomfortable with math.

    Previous research from this group has demonstrated the importance of adults' attitudes about math for children's math success. For example, a recent study found that math-anxious parents who help their children with math homework actually weaken their children's math achievement.

    The new findings demonstrate that structured, positive interactions around math at home can cut the link between parents' uneasiness about math and children's low math achievement.

    "Many Americans experience high levels of anxiety when they have to solve a math problem, with a majority of adults feeling at least some worries about math," said Beilock, professor in Psychology and author of Choke, a book about stress and performance. "These math-anxious parents are probably less likely to talk about math at home, which affects how competent their children are in math. Bedtime Math encourages a dialogue between parents and kids about math, and offers a way to engage in high-quality math interactions in a low-effort, high-impact way."

    Study participants included 587 first-grade students and their parents. Families were given an iPad installed with a version of the Bedtime Math app, with which parents and their children read stories and answer questions involving math, including topics like counting, shapes and problem-solving. A control group received a reading app that had similar stories without the math content and questions related to reading comprehension instead. Children's math achievement was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. Parents completed a questionnaire about their nervousness with math.

    The more times parents and children in the math group used the app, the higher children's achievement on a math assessment at the end of the school year. Indeed, children who frequently used the math app with their parents outperformed similar students in the reading group by almost three months in math achievement at year's end.

    Did anyone find the names of "Great Britain", "the United Kingdom", "England" and "the British commonwealth" which have the same meaning? Strictly speaking, these names all refer to something different. None of them are exactly the same as any of the others.

    The British isles refer to the main islands and several thousand small ones as well, which you can see on the map. Great Britain, or Britain, refers to the larger of the two main islands. But the word "Britain" is often used as a short form for the United Kingdom or you call it the UK.

    Now as for England, it refers simply to the largest of the three countries on the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is the name of the state and the official name of the country, which many people popularly refer to England.

    Finally, the Britain commonwealth is the usual name for what is left of the British Empire. This change shows the weakening of British Empire and the rising of the national liberation movements throughout the world today.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} While these compulsive(无法控制的) actions may appear to be irrational or pointless, and may even result in negative consequences, the individual experiencing the compulsion feels unable to stop him or herself.

    The compulsive behavior can be a physical act, like hand washing, or a mental activity, like counting objects. When an otherwise harmless behavior becomes so consuming that it negatively impacts oneself or others, it may be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)(强迫症).

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}The former is an overwhelming desire to do something, while an addiction is a physical or chemical dependence on a substance or behavior. People with addictions will continue their addictive behavior, even when they understand that doing so is harmful to themselves and others. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Unlike compulsions and addictions, which are acted out uncontrollably, habits are actions that are repeated regularly and automatically.

    Habits typically develop over time through a natural process called "habituation," during which repetitive actions that must be consciously initiated eventually become subconscious and are carried out habitually.

    While there are good habits and bad, unhealthy habits, any habit can become a compulsion or even an addiction. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} For example, the good habit of exercising regularly can become an unhealthy compulsion or addiction when done to excess.

    Common habits often develop into addictions when they result in a chemical dependency, as in the cases of smoking. The habit of having a glass of beer with dinner, for example, becomes an addiction when the desire to drink turns into a physical or emotional need to drink.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}While we can choose to add good, healthy habits to our routines, we can also choose to break old harmful habits.

A. A compulsion is different from an addiction.

B. It currently affects about 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children in the U.S.

C. Some of these behaviors are visible actions while others are mental behaviors.

D. In other words, you really can have "too much of a good thing."

E. Compulsive behaviors are actions that a person feels "compelled" or driven to do over and over again.

F. Alcoholism, smoking, and gambling are perhaps the most common examples of addictions.

G. Of course, the key difference between a compulsive behavior and a habit is the ability to choose to do them or not.

    Closeness and independence are both important in our life. Though all humans need both of them women tend to focus on the first and men on the second. It is as if their lifeblood ran in different directions.

    These differences can give women and men differing views of the same situation, as they did in the case of couple I will call Tracy and Brian. When Brian's old high school friend called him at work and announced he'd be in town on business the following month, Brian invited him to stay for the weekend. That evening he informed Tracy that they were going to have a houseguest, and that he and his friend would go out together the first night to chat like old times. Tracy was upset. She was going to be away on business the week before, and the Friday night when Brian would be out with his friend would be her first night home. But what upset her the most was that Brian had made these plans on his own and informed her of them, rather than discussing them with her before extending the invitation.

    Tracy would never make plans, for a weekend or an evening, without first checking with Brian. She can't understand why he doesn't show her the same courtesy and consideration that she shows him. But when she protests, Brian says, "I can't say to my friend, 'I have to ask my wife for permission'!"

    To Brian, checking with his wife means seeking permission, which implies that he is not independent, not free to act on his own. To Tracy, checking with her husband makes her feel good to know and show that she is involved with someone, that her life is bound up with someone else's.

    Tracy and Brian both felt upset by this incident because it cut to the core of their primary concerns. Tracy was hurt because she sensed a failure of closeness in their relationship: He didn't care about her as much as she cared about him. And he was hurt because he felt she was trying to control him and limit his freedom.